Consider your users before selecting or designing your solution

Analysts

Provide spreadsheets and calculation tools to the analysts. What-if analysis, scenario modelling and write back are all important. It could be important to provide textual write back as well as numerical. Give them ‘table-of-contents’ styled menu options in Tree reports. Provide them with level-three information flexibility, for example, they should be able to change members, change dimensions and change axis. They should be able to build their own analysis and reports and distribute them. Analysts will get a lot of value from guided analysis tools like the 360˚ viewer and the 3D City. Ad hoc reporting with a full charting package should be made available for self service reporting.

Executives

Provide Executives with an easy-to-use console that employs gauges, key reports and performance metrics. Let them select reports from a pictorial library and not report names. Design an engaging application that is both interesting and involving to the executive user. Provide them with one level of flexibility. For example, they should be able to change the information view from Europe to the US or from Q1 to the full year. Give them control of the information at a macro level. For example, empower them to change the orientation of the information to look at the Asian region, but do this for all reports, not just the report that is active at the time. Executives should be empowered to e-mail reports to other users. For the executive, less is more so keep the amount of buttons and options to a minimum.

Management

Provide report and analyses options pictorially and avoid using libraries of named reports. Use one-touch-reporting with hierarchical levels to provide access to different levels of reports. Promote the use of guided analysis and scorecards such as the 3D City, gauges, gap analysis and other performance metrics. Empower management with level-two flexibility so they can access members and dimensions. Self service reporting is often a big requirement from management. Capture feedback from management in numeric or textual format. This is important as management hold a large amount of the organisations intellectual capital. This can be done by traditional methods such as budgeting and forecasting or by new best practices such as risk assessment, MBO, balanced scorecards, strategy management etc.

Report Consumers

Sometimes it is enough to provide the right information to the right place at the right time using a simple format. Make sure that the navigation is easy and does not require a high degree of computer literacy. Suggested formats are the Executive Console, One Touch reporting and Tree reports. Stay away from complex Excel type reports, favouring simple grid and chart options. It is a good idea to incorporate a workflow process into this. Flexibility may not be desirable here, opting for level-one flexibility or even static reports. Security, printing and mobility are more important aspects here.

Full Solution

A well designed solution will have all four aspects and an additional one that facilitates IT. Inflection Point^TM was designed for all user categories in one application.